I must say I am deeply bothered by the fact that the proposed Stanford
Middle Plaza project does not meet higher environmental standards.

I testified in favor of the recently adopted sustainability standards for
new bayfront development, and can see no reason why we are not requiring
Stanford to meet them, too.

In addition, the proposed 2,000 parking spaces are a look back to the past,
not a good plan for the future. Rather than invest in parking which
encourages driving, we should invest in the behavior we need to encourage.
People want to do the right thing and drive electric cars or use
alternative modes of transportation, but if we don't provide the
infrastructure they can't. Instead, we force them to operate against
their own conscience, and pay for the privilege with expensive gasoline-
powered, single occupancy cars.

As the planet heats up, I am personally grateful for every shade tree I can
walk or park under. Trees also absorb CO2, so we need more of them. They
should absolutely be required.

As we look at what Texas is suffering right now, think about our own
coastline, and read about the melting of Alaskan permafrost and the break
up of the Antarctic ice, it's a wonder we can still contemplate doing
business as usual.